Still Strange, Still Intriguing (Part 1)

The following Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) game is strange enough to send me on a historical review through the posts of this blog.

MrJoker - Melbourne
blitz, 2 12, Internet Chess Club, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6 

Black decides neither to capture the White Knight nor safeguard his King. 

I first touched on this move in a post four years ago in "You, too, can add to Jerome Gambit theory!":

Of course, if your opponent springs the "Theoretical Novelty" 5...Ke6 on you, you'll be prepared with 6.Qg4+ Kxe5 7.d4+ Bxd4 8.Bf4+ Kf6 9.Bg5+ Kf7 10.Bxd8 Nxd8 (or 10...Bxb2 11.Qf3+ Ke8 12.Bxc7 Bxa1 13.Nd2 – a mess, but Black's uncertain King gives White the edge) and although the position is roughly even Black may not recover from "losing" his Queen.

About a year later, 5...Ke6 was no longer a "Theoretical Novelty" as I had a game to comment upon in "Surprise!":

DREWBEAR 63's move [from blackburne - DREWBEAR 63, Jerome Gambit Thematic Tournament, ChessWorld, 2009 (0-1, 10)] comes as quite a shock – certainly it must have been played before, perhaps in the earliest days of the Jerome Gambit; but there are no games in my database with the move, no analysis, and not even a mention of it.

The game sparked some interest in the line, and I brought it back in an end-of-the year quiz for Readers, specifically "Jerome Gambit Quiz #6". After the above diagram, I challenged:

Black is being creative: he doesn't capture the Knight at e5 and he doesn't wait for White's Queen to chase him to e6, he goes there voluntarily.

What do you think of Black's idea? What are some of the benefits of the line? What are some of the difficulties that it creates?

The answers, of course, came at the end of "Jerome Gambit Quiz #7":

The main advantage of Black's idea (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Ke6) is that it might surprise White and produce a less-than-best response.

The only move that leads to White advantage is the sharp 6.Qg4+.

After 6...Kxe5 (practically forced) 7.d4+ Bxd4 8.Bf4+ Black will lose his Queen: 8...Kf6 9.Bg5+ Kf7 10.Bxd8 but he will have compensation after 10...Bxb2 11.Qf3+ Ke8 12.Nc3 Bxa1 13.Bxc7. Black has two pieces and a Rook for a Queen and a pawn, but his King's lack of safety means more, and White has the edge.

This new line will give the defender something tricky to use against the Jerome Gambit. White must be prepared.

[to be continued]